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Thursday, June 30, 2016

DEAD HEAT! Poll Puts Trump & Clinton in Statistical Tie: Hillary Clinton is losing ground in her bid to secure the White House, according to the latest numbers from the Quinnipiac University National poll released on Wednesday. The poll puts support for Clinton at 42 percent to Donald Trump's 40 percent. The difference is within the polls margin of error and therefore makes a statistical tie between the presumptive nominees for both parties.

Trump Takes The Lead Says Rasmussen: Hot on the heels of a Quinnipiac poll that showed a closing gap between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton comes a Rasmussen poll that puts Trump on top. The poll of 1,000 adult Americans who describe themselves as 'likely' voters was carried out June 28 and 29 and released on the 30th:

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Flashback: '60 Minutes' edits Obama's answer on Benghazi: CBS News' 60 Minutes selectively edited an interview with President Obama in 2012 to omit his comment that it was unclear whether an assault on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, was the pre-meditated work of terrorists, or a random uprising.
Obama's uncertainty in that interview, conducted one day after the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack, stands in sharp contrast to when he stated indignantly during an Oct. 16 presidential debate that he saw the assault as an act of terror from the get-go.
Part of the CBS interview first aired on Sept. 23. However, CBS withheld specific portions of the president's sit-down from its original air date. Instead of running the president's remarks on the attack, CBS released small snippets of his comments throughout the final days of the 2012 election.
All in all, the full Benghazi exchange between the president and Kroft wasn't made available to American voters in its entirety until Nov. 4, a full 54 days after the attacks, and just two days before the election.

Conservative icon George F. Will has thrown a temper tantrum over the likely nomination of Donald Trump by the Republican Party. Will apparently had no problem with the GOP nominating a serious of losers (Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney) but there's something about Trump he doesn't like.

So would Will actually vote for Hillary Clinton or is he planning to sit out the 2016 presidential election, essentially guaranteeing a third term for Barack Obama?

How Pennsylvania and Ohio vote in November will likely determine who wins the White House, argues political columnist Salena Zito:

From her latest column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Ohio and Pennsylvania are microcosms of the Democrats' national difficulties in trying to win the House, said Kyle Kondik, author of “The Bellwether: Why Ohio Picks the President” and manager of the University of Virginia's Crystal Ball, the respected online political website.

“Democrats have a path to the House majority but the Republican advantage in Ohio and Pennsylvania helps illustrate their challenges,” Kondik said.

Republicans control 12 of 16 House seats in Ohio and 13 of 18 in Pennsylvania — overwhelming majorities in two states that Obama won twice and that, at the moment, Democrat Hillary Clinton is favored to win in November, despite close polling against
Republican Donald Trump.

In Ohio, Democrats don't really have credible targets, according to Kondik. Rep. David Joyce in Ohio's 14th Congressional District is vulnerable “on paper, but after Joyce won his primary, there's not much buzz about that race.”

Pennsylvania spends nearly $16,000 a year to education public school students, but Democrats say that's not enough. Despite declining enrollment and a death spiral for test scores, the only course for Democrats is to throw more money at the state's failing school systems.

From an editorial in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Based on state Education Department figures, school spending set a new
record in 2014-15 at $27.4 billion, amounting to $15,854 per pupil.
That's 10th in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of
Education. In 2014 the National Education Association ranked
Pennsylvania sixth nationwide in per pupil revenue, according to the
Commonwealth Foundation.

Restaurant Refuses Trump Supporters: A restaurant in Richmond, Va., refused service to two Donald Trump supporters when they entered the place of business in full Trump swag. After attending a Trump rally, Shannon Riggs and her cousins entered the regional burger chain Cook Out for some lunch, but the cashier refused.

Sorry Bernie Sanders supporters. Your candidate never stood a chance ...DNC Leak Shows HRC Was Favorite From the Start: Recently leaked documents from the Democrat National Committee reveal that Hillary Rodham Clinton was the party's choice for president from the start, according to the New York Post. A document to the DNC dated May 26, 2015 – a month after Sanders kicked off his presidential bid — declared that “our goals & strategy” are to “provide a contrast between the GOP field and HRC.”

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Fishwrap: Confidence in newspapers, TV news hits bottom: Confidence in newspapers has hit an all time low in the latest Gallup survey, and TV news is also at a new low, the latest proof that Americans are losing faith in the media. Gallup found that just 20 percent have confidence in newspapers, a 10-point drop in 10 years. TV news saw an identical 10-point drop, from 31 percent to 21 percent. But it could be worse. Of all the institutions Gallup surveyed on, Congress is at the bottom, with just 9 percent having confidence in America's elected leaders, a finding that is clearly impacting the direction and tone of the 2016 elections.

Goldman Sachs: Obamacare forcing hundreds of thousands into part-time work: Obamacare is forcing hundreds of thousands of people into part-time work, according to a new analysis from the bank Goldman Sachs.
In a research note sent out Wednesday, bank economist Alec Phillips concluded that the evidence suggests that the [Affordable Care Act] has at least modestly elevated involuntary part-time employment. He wrote that a few hundred thousand workers may have had their hours cut or been forced to take part-time jobs because of the law.
Goldman Sachs' analysis is the latest conduct on the contentious topic of the healthcare law and part-time work, and its findings largely back up what other studies have revealed, Phillips wrote. The bank weighed in on the question after involuntary part-time work rose sharply in recent months.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Media Censor Clinton Wearing $12K Armani Jacket at Inequality Speech: Hillary Clinton made herself look like the out-of-touch elitist she is often criticized for being, but rather than reporting that, broadcast networks hyped her “historic” nomination. When Clinton spoke against income inequality during a April 2016 speech, she wore a jacket, reportedly costing $12,495, from high-end designer Giorgio Armani. The New York Post reported on the jacket and its price on June 5, 2016, but none of the broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- picked up the story.

FCC: Taxpayers Footing $500M Bill for Obamaphone Fraud: A letter sent by a Federal Communications Commission commissioner suggests that taxpayers are footing the bill for half a billion dollars in fraudulent 'Obamaphone' subsidies. Ajit Pai, the senior Republican commissioner at the FCC, says there may be as many as 4.2 million duplicate recipients of Lifeline Assistance subsidies, also known as the “Obamaphone” program.

Thursday, June 09, 2016

Pennsylvania spends massive amounts of tax dollars every year on public education despite declining enrollment and falling test score. Democrats, led by liberal Gov. Tom Wolf, keep saying we need to spend billions more on the state's failed public education system. An analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation shows Pennsylvania already spends $16,000 per student. So how much is enough to satisfy free-spending Democrats and their union allies? Commonwealth Foundation: Is $27 Billion Enough?

Hillary is running, but she is also hiding: The International Business Times requested copies last year of all correspondence between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her aides about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a controversial trade agreement that she once wholeheartedly supported but has since, for political reasons, disowned. As the Times describes it, the request was designed to provide a comprehensive view of how involved Clinton and her top aides were in shaping the trade agreement, and whether her agency had a hand in crafting any particular provisions. President Obama's officials originally promised to produce these documents by April this year. But not very surprisingly, it has suddenly decided to keep them under wraps until late November, 489 days after the newspaper's request and a couple of weeks after the general election.

Poll: Hillary beats Trump in Mexico, 88%-1%: A new presidential poll taken in the world's top 25 nations shows enormous support for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, with the biggest gap between and Republican Donald Trump in Mexico, where she leads 88 percent to 1 percent.
Globally, most citizens (57%) say they would vote for Hillary Clinton – far outstripping the number who would support Trump (13%), said Ipsos in a newly released survey. Trump beat Clinton only in China and Russia. Europe, Latin America and much of Asia chose Clinton and said that they believe she will be better for them.

Goldman Sachs: Obamacare forcing hundreds of thousands into part-time work: Obamacare is forcing hundreds of thousands of people into part-time work, according to a new analysis from the bank Goldman Sachs. In a research note sent out Wednesday, bank economist Alec Phillips concluded that the evidence suggests that the [Affordable Care Act] has at least modestly elevated involuntary part-time employment. He wrote that a few hundred thousand workers may have had their hours cut or been forced to take part-time jobs because of the law. Goldman Sachs' analysis is the latest conduct on the contentious topic of the healthcare law and part-time work, and its findings largely back up what other studies have revealed, Phillips wrote. The bank weighed in on the question after involuntary part-time work rose sharply in recent months.

Obama backs 'terrific' VA secretary McDonald: President Obama offered a strong vote of confidence to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, just weeks after the agency head stirred controversy for comparing the waits at VA hospitals to lines at Disneyland.
I think Secretary McDonald has done a terrific job, Obama told the Colorado Gazette in an interview published Sunday.
Since there's only eight months left in my administration, [McDonald's] got all the way until then to run through the tape, he added.
Dozens of GOP lawmakers blasted McDonald after his comments about VA clinics, including Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, who called for his resignation.
Dismissing wait times when veterans can often wait months for an appointment is negligent and a clear sign that new leadership is needed at the VA, Blunt said last month.

Thursday, June 02, 2016

Philadelphia Schools Add Two Muslim Holidays: Philadelphia school district officials announced Tuesday that they will be adding two Muslim holidays to their calendar. The two holidays to be added, which won't take effect until 2017-2018 school year, are Eid al-Fitr, celebrated at the conclusion of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, which concludes the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Similar to Easter, both holidays fall on different days every year and will be adjusted accordingly each calendar cycle.

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Why Politics Matter

“Politics, the crooked timber of our communal lives, dominates everything because, in the end, everything – high and low and, most especially, high – lives or dies by politics. You can have the most advanced and efflorescent of cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away. This is not ancient history. This is Germany 1933.” –– Charles Krauthammer

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About Me

Tony A. Phyrillas is a leading conservative columnist, commentator and blogger based in Pennsylvania.
A veteran newspaperman with 33 years experience as a reporter, editor, photographer and columnist, Phyrillas received a first place award in 2010 for best column from the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors and a first place award in 2007 for Best Opinion Column from Suburban Newspapers of America. He was recognized for column writing in 2007 by the Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Chapter and in 2006 by the SPJ Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
Phyrillas is ranked among the most influential political bloggers in Pennsylvania by BlogNetNews.com.
Odyssey: The World of Greece magazine named Phyrillas one of the leading Greek-American bloggers in the world.
A Penn State University graduate, Phyrillas is the editor/content manager of The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa.
Phyrillas made frequent appearances on talk radio and as a panelist on the "Journalists Roundtable" program on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
He co-hosted a weekly radio program on WPAZ 1370 AM for 2 years.